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Duncan

The Wire

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...because it's not CSI: The Experience? :erm:

Hehe, sorry it's just a running in-joke that doesn't make any sense unless you're privy to it... Just basically The Wire beats the crap out of other "realistic" crime shows that have clogged up our TV screens (and which I utterly despise, and have done since their popularity exploded). They sell themselves on being an ultra realistic depiction of crime, when really (at worst, at least) they're just sadistic gore fests (IMHO). As David Simon pointed out: All three Law & Order shows had more dead bodies in them than Manhattan (where all three shows are set) actually had, in the same time period. Pretty ridiculous.

But not as ridiculous at this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GeeyWvo1rNg

And certainly not as ridiculous as a CSI Theme Park Attraction. (Jesus.)

All reasons why The Wire is fantastically better than its peers.

Edited by ThunderPeel2001

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No, this.

It's 7, 70 or so minute episodes written by the same guys who did The Wire. It's starts with US marines preparing to invade Iraq in Kuwait, and follows them all the way to Baghdad.

I binge watched most of it at the weekend, and finished it off last night. It's excellent, has a lot of black humour, brutal, disturbing, and I liked the ending.

Reporter: "Have you seen a picture of my girlfriend? Blonde hair, brown eyes?"

Soldier: "Did she have a big stain on her face?"

"... er, no"

"Not seen her then"

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Punts arse in huge, shiny, Kevlar-reinforced military issue boots.

Ow... :getmecoat

So it's good then? Excellent stuff. I've got to pace myself with this stuff though, haven't I? I've still got The Wire 4 & 5 to watch. I was so ravenous for more Wire at the end of 3 that I nearly scared myself... If I kept going straight through to 5 without calming down again, I'd probably have a breakdown when 5 finished.

I'm currently reading David Simon's Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets. Loving it so far, Simon is a great writer. Highly recommended. :tup:

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Believability is what struck me most about Generation Kill. My brother served in Iraq for a good chunk of last year and some of the experiences he had are intimately related through Generation Kill's infrequent skirmishes and incidental encounters. At least there were for me, as an outsider trying to frame what my brother experienced as physical events.

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It's probably the most real series around short of being an actual documentary, and it's very meta:

* the reporter character is representing the guy that actually wrote the novel.

* One of the Marines, Rudy Reyes, was actually playing himself.

If you watch the DVD special features, there's a discussion in the end between the author and a bunch of the actual marines. The resemblance to the actors, mannerisms and so on, is kinda creepy -- except with "Ziggy", he doesn't look like the guy he was playing at all. And Lt. Fick wrote a book about the whole ordeal and life as a marine. He was probably my favourite character on the show, so it's good to see that the real Fick is doing well in post-military life.

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Generation Kill sounds like it'd be right up my street, is it due to be repeated in the UK any time soon or have I missed it?

Since everyone round here (and Charlie Brooker) keeps on bumming The Wire I thought I'd give it a go. I got the first season out of the local library and, IGN.com jokes aside, it blew me away. I only allowed myself to watch one episode per sitting, revelling in the desire, nay the need, to find out what's going to happen next.

Sadly the library only has the first season, and I can't really afford to buy the DVDs right now :(

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It's probably the most real series around short of being an actual documentary, and it's very meta:

* the reporter character is representing the guy that actually wrote the novel.

* One of the Marines, Rudy Reyes, was actually playing himself.

If you watch the DVD special features, there's a discussion in the end between the author and a bunch of the actual marines. The resemblance to the actors, mannerisms and so on, is kinda creepy -- except with "Ziggy", he doesn't look like the guy he was playing at all. And Lt. Fick wrote a book about the whole ordeal and life as a marine. He was probably my favourite character on the show, so it's good to see that the real Fick is doing well in post-military life.

Maybe I'll have to netflix the g. kill dvds...

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FX has started airing The Wire season one, and seeing as it's got quite the acclaim I figured I'd give it a go. I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode, but I'm just wondering: is it actually a 4:3 show, or has FX just cropped it?

It doesn't bother me a great deal, but I figured I'd ask as sometimes certain channels on Sky do — albeit rarely — crop shows and even films for no apparent reason.

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FX has started airing The Wire season one, and seeing as it's got quite the acclaim I figured I'd give it a go. I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode, but I'm just wondering: is it actually a 4:3 show, or has FX just cropped it?

It doesn't bother me a great deal, but I figured I'd ask as sometimes certain channels on Sky do — albeit rarely — crop shows and even films for no apparent reason.

I must warn against watching the series on FX—presumably with the dialogue and footage censored and 15 minutes cut from each episode (unless they show it in 90 minute schedule blocks instead of an hour). It's a great show, and is worth watching unedited on DVD .

It was shot in 4:3 because the creators decided to keep it in that aspect reason for the whole series because David Simon thought it was more real or something. Even odder, they never converted the production to HD, even though it was shot on film.

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Got to the end of the first series of The Wire yesterday. What a good show. :tup: Next series starts immediately, too.

Also watched the first episode of Dollhouse. It has intrigued me enough to continue watching, considering the praise of various episodes.

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Season two of the Wire is kindof blah compared to the rest of the series but three, four and five are rad—with four being a kind of high water mark that the fifth couldn't possibly live up to. Still, they are all rad. Best thing on TV.

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I very much enjoyed the second series, personally. Once I shifted my head into its very different setting and plot I thought it was no less compelling and "moreish" than the other 4.

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Season two of the Wire is kindof blah compared to the rest of the series but three, four and five are rad—with four being a kind of high water mark that the fifth couldn't possibly live up to.

I'm glad to hear someone say that. Almost all of my friends said 'Season Two of The Wire is my favourite', seemingly in some sort of collective contrarian stance.

It still has some (very) good bits throughout, but whereas the first season made me feel like the hours were well spent, and well used, the second made me feel cheated a bit. I don't watch TV, usually, because of the time investment, and didn't feel it paid off that time.

I'll get around to the latter seasons in due time, I think I needed a break from it.

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I very much enjoyed the second series, personally. Once I shifted my head into its very different setting and plot I thought it was no less compelling and "moreish" than the other 4.

Stuff was just written less subtly in the second season, plus blue collar white people are not all that interesting to begin with. It is a good thing that second season doesn't come back to pollute the rest of the series at all. Whereas all the other seasons seem to build more overtly one on the other, the second one is a weird little tangent.

I am not sure what you mean by "no less compelling and 'moreish'". If you're saying it is slightly more compelling than the rest, I would like to know why you'd say that.

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Since when does "no less" mean "more"? :P

edit: oh, maybe the word moreish doesn't get much use over there. Over here it means it leaves you wanting more.

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Since when does "no less" mean "more"? :P

edit: oh, maybe the word moreish doesn't get much use over there. Over here it means it leaves you wanting more.

I looked it up in the dictionary before I asked. :tmeh::shifty:

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Hm, and this morning the Third Season boxset arrived in the post. Turns out the girlfriend had ordered it in secret. Seems like the break wasn't long-lived.

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I am not sure what you mean by "no less compelling and 'moreish'". If you're saying it is slightly more compelling than the rest, I would like to know why you'd say that.

No. He's simply saying it's not less compelling than the other seasons. (?)

Anyhoo, I was a bit disappointed in Season 2. If felt less real and more like standard TV. Plus, unlike Season 1, the other side of the story wasn't told (the women in the box were pretty much forgotten about -- and when we did others like them, they appeared to be very willing prostitutes - weird). There also wasn't much real police work and the setting up of a special unit to "do whatever we want to" seemed a far fetched.

Saying all that, though, it was still flipping amazing TV. Plus once I'd gotten used to the direction The Wire was taking (after watching Season 3), my appreciation of Season 2 went up, too.

I think Season 1 will always have a pretty special place in my heart.

I've only started watching Season 4... what's the deal with the drop in picture quality?? (And damn... I could tolerate Jay Landsman, but there's seriously poor acting going on in the minor support: There's one minor actress in the first episode (I think) that looks at her marker as she walks into the head's office!)

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I thought Landsman was perfect fit for who he was. The only time I ever really noticed shoddy acting was in season two, and that was really because the new characters were relatively badly conceived. E.g. Brother Mouzone smugly winking at the camera, reveling in his own awesomeness ("You know what is themost dangerous thing in the world? A nigga with a library card."), Ziggy, the mysterious Greek who is so damn mysterious he is transparent, etc.

But whatever, it is a rad show.

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